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Sprayed

Works from 1929 to 2015

June 11–August 1, 2015
Britannia Street, London

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view Photo: Mike Bruce

Installation view

Photo: Mike Bruce

Works Exhibited

Richard Artschwager, Satyr, 2001 Acrylic, rubberized hair, and Masonite, 57 × 32 × 2 ½ inches (144.8 × 81.3 × 6.4 cm)

Richard Artschwager, Satyr, 2001

Acrylic, rubberized hair, and Masonite, 57 × 32 × 2 ½ inches (144.8 × 81.3 × 6.4 cm)

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled, 1981 Aerosol paint, pencil, felt-tip pen, acrylic, and enamel paint on panel, 50 ½ × 29 inches (128.3 × 73.7 cm)© The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled, 1981

Aerosol paint, pencil, felt-tip pen, acrylic, and enamel paint on panel, 50 ½ × 29 inches (128.3 × 73.7 cm)
© The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat

John Chamberlain, Anteambulo Quincunx, 1992 Painted steel, 48 ⅜ × 77 × 59 inches (122.9 × 195.6 × 149.9 cm)© John Chamberlain. Photo: Miriam Perez

John Chamberlain, Anteambulo Quincunx, 1992

Painted steel, 48 ⅜ × 77 × 59 inches (122.9 × 195.6 × 149.9 cm)
© John Chamberlain. Photo: Miriam Perez

Dan Christensen, Pavo, 1968 Acrylic on canvas, 108 × 132 inches (274.3 × 335.3 cm)© Estate of Dan Christensen. Photo: Mike Bruce

Dan Christensen, Pavo, 1968

Acrylic on canvas, 108 × 132 inches (274.3 × 335.3 cm)
© Estate of Dan Christensen. Photo: Mike Bruce

Dan Colen, HOLY SHIT, 2006 Oil on plywood, 48 × 36 inches (121.9 × 91.4 cm)© Dan Colen. Photo: Rob McKeever

Dan Colen, HOLY SHIT, 2006

Oil on plywood, 48 × 36 inches (121.9 × 91.4 cm)
© Dan Colen. Photo: Rob McKeever

Piero Golia, Intermission painting #8 green to purple, 2014 EPS foam, hard coat, and pigment, 75 × 48 ½ × 14 ½ inches (190.5 × 123.2 × 36.8 cm)© Piero Golia

Piero Golia, Intermission painting #8 green to purple, 2014

EPS foam, hard coat, and pigment, 75 × 48 ½ × 14 ½ inches (190.5 × 123.2 × 36.8 cm)
© Piero Golia

Kim Gordon, Mulholland Series (Copper Wreath), 2014 Acrylic on canvas, 36 × 36 inches (91.4 × 91.4 cm)Photo: Fredrik Nilsen

Kim Gordon, Mulholland Series (Copper Wreath), 2014

Acrylic on canvas, 36 × 36 inches (91.4 × 91.4 cm)
Photo: Fredrik Nilsen

Katharina Grosse, Untitled, 2015 Acrylic on canvas, 94 ½ × 152 ¾ inches (240 × 388 cm)© Katharina Grosse and VG Bild-Kunst Bonn, 2015. Photo: Olaf Bergmann

Katharina Grosse, Untitled, 2015

Acrylic on canvas, 94 ½ × 152 ¾ inches (240 × 388 cm)
© Katharina Grosse and VG Bild-Kunst Bonn, 2015. Photo: Olaf Bergmann

Wade Guyton and Stephen Prina, Wade Guyton, Untitled 2011, Epson UltraChrome inkjet on linen / Stephen Prina, PUSH COMES TO LOVE, Untitled, 1999–2011, 2011 Epson UltraChrome inkjet on linen and acrylic enamel on linen; the contents of a can of enamel spray paint; 84 × 69 inches (213.4 × 175.3 cm)© Wade Guyton and Stephen Prina. Courtesy the artists, Petzel, New York. Photo: Rob McKeever

Wade Guyton and Stephen Prina, Wade Guyton, Untitled 2011, Epson UltraChrome inkjet on linen / Stephen Prina, PUSH COMES TO LOVE, Untitled, 1999–2011, 2011

Epson UltraChrome inkjet on linen and acrylic enamel on linen; the contents of a can of enamel spray paint; 84 × 69 inches (213.4 × 175.3 cm)
© Wade Guyton and Stephen Prina. Courtesy the artists, Petzel, New York. Photo: Rob McKeever

Keith Haring, Untitled (FDR NY) #25 & #26, 1984 Spray enamel paint on metal, 40 × 204 inches (101.6 × 518.2 cm)Photo: Mike Bruce

Keith Haring, Untitled (FDR NY) #25 & #26, 1984

Spray enamel paint on metal, 40 × 204 inches (101.6 × 518.2 cm)
Photo: Mike Bruce

Harmony Korine, TBD, 2014 Oil, house paint, and acrylic on canvas, 32 × 25 inches (81.3 × 63.5 cm)Photo: Rob McKeever

Harmony Korine, TBD, 2014

Oil, house paint, and acrylic on canvas, 32 × 25 inches (81.3 × 63.5 cm)
Photo: Rob McKeever

Steven Parrino, Untitled, 1991 Sprayed enamel, pencil on vellum, 9 × 12 inches (22.9 × 30.5 cm)© Steven Parrino

Steven Parrino, Untitled, 1991

Sprayed enamel, pencil on vellum, 9 × 12 inches (22.9 × 30.5 cm)
© Steven Parrino

Sterling Ruby, SP311, 2014 Spray paint on synthetic canvas, 160 × 235 inches (406.4 × 596.9 cm)© Sterling Ruby. Photo: Robert Wedemeyer

Sterling Ruby, SP311, 2014

Spray paint on synthetic canvas, 160 × 235 inches (406.4 × 596.9 cm)
© Sterling Ruby. Photo: Robert Wedemeyer

Ed Ruscha, Oaf, 2009 Acrylic on museum board paper, 40 × 30 inches (101.6 × 76.2 cm)© Ed Ruscha

Ed Ruscha, Oaf, 2009

Acrylic on museum board paper, 40 × 30 inches (101.6 × 76.2 cm)
© Ed Ruscha

Julian Schnabel, Untitled, 2015 Inkjet print, ink, and spray paint on polyester, 108 × 72 inches (274.3 × 182.9 cm)Photo: Rob McKeever

Julian Schnabel, Untitled, 2015

Inkjet print, ink, and spray paint on polyester, 108 × 72 inches (274.3 × 182.9 cm)
Photo: Rob McKeever

David Smith, First Ovals, 1958 Spray paint on canvas, 98 × 51 ½ inches (248.9 × 130.8 cm)© The Estate of David Smith

David Smith, First Ovals, 1958

Spray paint on canvas, 98 × 51 ½ inches (248.9 × 130.8 cm)
© The Estate of David Smith

Andy Warhol, Oxidation, 1978 Urine on copper foil, 50 ⅛ × 39 ¼ inches (127.3 × 99.7 cm)© 2015 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

Andy Warhol, Oxidation, 1978

Urine on copper foil, 50 ⅛ × 39 ¼ inches (127.3 × 99.7 cm)
© 2015 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.

About

Justin Adian, Richard Artschwager, Tauba Auerbach, Martin Barré, Jean-Michel Basquiat, David Batchelor, Dike Blair, John Chamberlain, Dan Christensen, Dan Colen, Ida Ekblad, Jeff Elrod, Urs Fischer, Jack Goldstein, Piero Golia, Kim Gordon, Katharina Grosse, Wade Guyton, Richard Hamilton, Keith Haring, Hans Hartung, Alex Israel, Anish Kapoor, Paul Klee, Jeff Koons, Harmony Korine, John Latham, Joseph Logan, Nate Lowman, Olivier Mosset, Takashi Murakami, Albert Oehlen, Jules Olitski, David Ostrowski, Steven Parrino, Sigmar Polke, Stephen Prina, Ugo Rondinone, Pamela Rosenkranz, Sterling Ruby, Ed Ruscha, Mira Schendel, Julian Schnabel, David Smith, Rudolf Stingel, Blair Thurman, Charline von Heyl, Andy Warhol, Lawrence Weiner, Franz West, Michael Williams, Christopher Wool, Richard Wright

Gagosian is pleased to present Sprayed, organized by Jona Lueddeckens and Greg Bergner.

This extensive exhibition spanning four generations explores the myriad ways in which artists have employed the impulsive yet depersonalized and non-gestural forces of spray. It begins with Paul Klee’s work on paper Seltsames Theater (1929), where he improvised with a blowpipe to achieve hazy background effects in a circus scene. This tentative experiment presaged the bold and diverse artistic license that would come with the postwar advent of aerosol paint as a consumer product and the use of the industrial paint compressor.

From the mid-1950s, sculptor David Smith sprayed enamels over various studio objects and offcuts laid on canvas and paper as stencils; the resulting images recalled Paleolithic cave paintings made by blowing pigment over hands pressed flat. John Chamberlain blurred the lines between painting and sculpture by torquing scrap automobile parts into painterly abstractions, then enhancing the original paint surface with fresh sprays of colored lacquer. Lawrence Weiner’s interaction with the medium resulted in a simple, dispassionate instruction: TWO MINUTES OF SPRAY PAINT DIRECTLY UPON THE FLOOR FROM A STANDARD AEROSOL SPRAY CAN (1968), while Martin Barré tested it at different distances and pressures in a series of rapid strikes producing sequences of stripes and cryptic punctuations on paper.

Read more

Sprayed: An Interview with Peter Stevens

Sprayed: An Interview with Peter Stevens

Harnessing the gestural, unpredictable, projectile qualities of spray paint, artists have repurposed it as an alternative to the brush, to create hazy textures, drips, puddles, and graffiti-like text. Peter Stevens discusses this history of spray paint as an artistic medium with Alison McDonald.

Richard Avedon’s Marilyn Monroe, actor, New York, May 6, 1957 on the cover of Gagosian Quarterly, Summer 2023

Now available
Gagosian Quarterly Summer 2023

The Summer 2023 issue of Gagosian Quarterly is now available, featuring Richard Avedon’s Marilyn Monroe, actor, New York, May 6, 1957 on its cover.

Artist Richard Wright sits looking at something outside the frame

In Conversation
Richard Wright and Martin Clark

Richard Wright and Martin Clark, director of Camden Art Centre, London, discuss Wright’s latest body of work, recent commissions, and new monograph, which provides a comprehensive overview of his practice between 2010 and 2020.

Roe Ethridge's Two Kittens with Yarn Ball (2017–22) on the cover of Gagosian Quarterly, Spring 2023

Now available
Gagosian Quarterly Spring 2023

The Spring 2023 issue of Gagosian Quarterly is now available, featuring Roe Ethridge’s Two Kittens with Yarn Ball (2017–22) on its cover.

Dan Colen, Mother (Intersection), 2021–22, oil on canvas, 59 × 151 inches (149.9 × 383.5 cm)

Dan Colen: Other Worlds Are Possible

In this interview, curator and artist K.O. Nnamdie speaks with artist Dan Colen about his recent show in New York: Lover, Lover, Lover. Colen delves into the concept of “home” as it relates to his work, specifically the Mother and Woodworker series. Thinking through the political and historical implications of “homeland” in the context of the artist’s relationship with Israel and America, the two consider the intersections between these paintings—the final group of his Disney-inspired canvases—and Colen’s work with Sky High Farm, New York.

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In an excerpt from his forthcoming monograph, Richard Wright pens a personal and philosophical text about painting.